A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.
On April 3, 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivered what was to be his final speech, telling a rally of striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee, “I’ve been to the mountaintop. ... I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land!”
The following day, on April 4, King Jr., 39, was shot and killed while standing on a balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
King’s death triggered a wave of unrest in cities across the United States that killed 43 people and injured more than 3,000.
James Earl Ray, a career small-time criminal who became the object of a more than two-month manhunt before he was captured in England, pled guilty to the shooting and received a 99-year prison sentence.
Though Ray recanted his plea and spent the rest of his life claiming that he had been framed by a conspiracy that was really responsible for King’s assassination, it remains the official ruling.
King’s civil rights legacy continues on to this day.
Here are some stories from Deseret News archives about the civil rights leader and his many accomplishments:
“Visiting Memphis 50 years after King’s assassination”
“1968: Historians see year as turning point”
“1968: Turbulent year brought changes and headlines that shocked America”
“Trump issues order to declassify JFK files in 15 days, MLK Jr., RFK files to follow”
“Weapons experts begin tests on gun in King assassination”
“Kings’ visits to Utah are chronicled”
“Did Ray’s brothers play role in King’s assassination?”
“Opinion: Black history and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”
